Corona Devotionals

Who w ould we say are the most important people in our life?  Family, friends, pets, neighbors.  (Place them in your own preferred order of importance.)  Friends may change over the course of our lives, but they are a common (valuable) thread in each of our lives.  How do we treat our true friends?  How should we? Who are the wrong friends to have? Did we know that the Bible answers these things for us, a nd gives us friend-guidelines?  ~~~  Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,  when it is in your power to act. ( 28)  Do not say to your neighbor,  “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you.  ~Proverbs 3:27-28  The Bible advises us to do the right thing first , and now.  If we can help someone out: do it , God says in His Word.  We should not be lazy in action or in generosity of our spirit toward others.   Don't  hold out on kindness to others today. A ...

I have a friend named Tammy, and she has a few mental challenges, but her heart is good, and one thing that I know about her is her steadfast love for cats.  She can no longer have a cat in the facility in which she lives, but whenever I see her, she inevitably shares with me (and anyone listening) about her beloved cat, Prince , whom she had to leave when she came to the facility.  Tammy worries (daily) for Prince's well-being, often to the point of tears.   “I love my baby boy”, she has often told me of her cat.  And indeed, she does love that cat.  She has asked me a number of times if I think that her “baby boy” (cat) will be in heaven?   The truth is, I am not exactly sure of what the answer to Tammy’s spiritual question will look like for us in heaven, and I haven't found a clear answer (yet) in my Bible reading over the years. However, I thought of Tammy and her sweet "baby boy", Prince, as I wrapped up in reading the last few verses in the ...

Sometimes I will feel a spiritual nudge to do something or engage with someone... and I do it.   I write the note, or pay the visit, or provide the meal.  But sometimes I feel the prompting to do God's will, and because of timing, resources, or my own self-will: I don't do it. We are human after all, and...bygones, right ?   Right--except sometimes God isn't just asking  us, He is tasking  us...and when our God  means business , ( His business), then we had better comply. An example of this in the Bible is Jonah.  An example of this in our lives is (sometimes) us. Let's talk about Jonah first. God tasked Jonah with going to the city of Nineveh and speaking to their people about the sin that they were involved in.  The only problem was: Jonah didn't want to go. God asked  Jonah to go to Nineveh. God tasked  Jonah to go to  Nineveh. But Jonah did not go to Nineveh, he caught the next ship out of town and hid in the bow of...

What is your "crazy" (for Jesus) today?  And-- go for it. Starting a youth group from scratch? Beginning a recovery ministry to free women from addiction. Sharing the love of Jesus with inmates? Scheduling a lunch with an acquaintance who is gay to show and share God's love and truth with them? Presenting a session on 'Faith and God' during a secular business conference.  Humbly confronting (broken) bullies in order to seek unity and peace and God's good plan for them and those they harass. Sharing God's love and the Gospel of Jesus at a business meeting/doctor's appointment/coffee clutch? What crazy thing has God called us to do/be/say/pray in His Name and for His glory...and what's holding us back? Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.  ~Proverbs 29:25 It's crazy, but everything about following Jesus goes against  our human logic, reasoning, and our gut instincts.  Maybe that's why it is so hard to step ...

Have you ever watched a movie or a cartoon (think Tom and Jerry ), where one character sets a trap (of some sort) for another character, and then we watch as the unsuspecting other character walks right into it.   They didn't see it coming at all.   That's how I feel with sin, and most often (for me), it is the sin of my tongue...and my (negative) words that impede God's plans, and bring me and others down in negative ways.  However, beyond the tongue, sin befalls us in all-manner of ways, and each of us may struggle with differing areas of sin---but we all struggle.   There are times when we know  that the devil may lay a trap for us, and (in God's strength), we avoid it.  We  purpose to keep a guard over our lips/thoughts/actions/impulses/desires...a guard over our SIN, lest we fall to it.   And--with prayer and preparation and with God , we can avoid sin and even be victorious over it.   Jesus looked at them and said,...